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Skills, Knowledge, and Attitudes Important for Present‐Day Auditors
Author(s) -
Siriwardane Harshini P.,
Kin Hoi Hu Billy,
Low Kin Yew
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
international journal of auditing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.583
H-Index - 21
eISSN - 1099-1123
pISSN - 1090-6738
DOI - 10.1111/ijau.12023
Subject(s) - audit , accounting , business , internal audit , psychology , public relations , political science
Recent accounting scandals have challenged and transformed the present‐day role of auditors, making it timely and important to re‐examine the skills, knowledge, and attitudes ( SKA s) required of auditors in today's business environment. While prior studies have examined SKA s of accountants and internal auditors, and personal attributes of auditors, there is little research on auditors' SKA s. We propose and examine 20 SKA s important to present‐day auditors. We survey experienced auditors in S ingapore about the importance of these SKA s. Our participants rate professional integrity, assessing audit evidence, and having a questioning mind (indicative of professionalism competency) as the three most important SKA s. The participants also assess entry‐level auditors' ( ELA s) performance for each SKA . The difference between their importance and performance ratings is largest for business competency, particularly for knowledge of client's business. Our findings have implications for various accounting constituencies in terms of developing auditors' competencies.